Harvesting and threshing combine



Get. 22, 1968 c. M. HANSON HARVESTING AND THRESHING COMBINE 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 16, 1967 IQ 5 a m h 2 I 9 .I: .rwNlIl w 7 8IIII .lu 2 u 9 2 2 I 2 2 .IIII 4 2 M q 2 2 4 8 T 2 2 m m f v 2 FIWMMFIGURE FIGURE 2 FIGURE F I GURE INVENTOR FIGURE Carl M. Hanson Get. 22,1968 c. M. HANSON 3,406,505

HARVESTING AND THRESHING COMBINE Filed Aug. 16, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2VAVAVAVAVAVAXIIAVAVAVAVA V41, \57 58 I 1 6O 76 2e 75 L8 -T -G -5 FIGURE4 INVEINTOR Carl M. Hanson Oct. 22, 1968 c. M. HANSON HARVESTING ANDTHRESHING comma 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug 16, 1967 FIGURE- 5 FIGURE 6FIGRE N V E N T O R FIGURE 8 M. Ho ns on Car! 06L 1963 c. M. HANSON3,406,505

HARVESTING AND THRESHING COMBINE Filed Aug. 16, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fl G I F] (SURE 9 F l GURE IO P 1 GURE :7

FIGUREIZ INVENTOR Carl M. Hanson Oct. 22, 1968 c. M. HANSON 3,406,505

HARVESTING AND THRESHING COMBINE Filed Aug. 16, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 v1 I 1 I I n IOI FIGURE 20 INVENTOR Carl M. Hansen United States Patent()1 ce 1 ABSTRACT on THE DISCLOSURE The structure of this harvesting andthreshing combine includes a mobile vehicle having a grain cutter at itsforward end and cut grain delivery ducts leading from over the cuttingstation where there aretwo suctionfans that deliver the cut grain to athreshing machine having a a generally cylindrical housing. This housinghas a discharge for straw at its rear end. The cylindrical housing inthe illustration is about fourrfeet in diameter. It has connectedtherewith agrain cleaner and surrounding the cylindrical housing andgrain cleaner is an outside tank for temporary storage of grainprovided. with the necessary conveyors. The threshing is carried out inthe cylindrical housing that is disposed horizontally and has a forwardand rear end.Within the housing is an impeller extending from the frontto the rear and it is equipped with longitudinal paddles spacedradially. from the impeller shaft. Mounted on the radial arms which holdthe forward ends of the paddles are flailing bars that contact theincoming cut grain to be threshed. Between the impeller and the insideof the cylindrical housing is a radially extending spiral plate aboutsix inches in radial width attached to the inside of the housing andextending from the front end to therear end. Its first spiral is abouttwenty-four inches and the others are about sixteen inches. Viewing thehousing by looking into the front end there are attached to the housingin the lower right quadrant and between the spirals, a plurality ofspaced apartv zigzagging sheet metal plates called grain stoppers thatare spaced about one inch from each other and which increase in radialheight clockwise to about three inches at the bottom of the cylinder.Extending radially and partly into the housing at the bottom andadjacent the bottom ends of the grain stoppers is a screw conveyor whichdischarges at the forward end to a debearder and grain cleaner. There isa longitudinally extending fiat booster plate about one and one-halffeet wide that extends from adjacent the screw conveyor opposite fromthe grain stoppers to where it meets the inside wall of the housing.Separate booster plates may be used between the spirals or the spiralsmay be cut to accommodate a single booster plate. Straw carry overspaced apart fingers extend over a quarter of the upper half of theconveyor and they are attached to and supported from the inside wall ofthe cylinder between the grain stoppers. Over the rear end elongatedportion of the conveyor there is an arcuate plate that extends oppositethe carry over fingers and serves as a skimmer plate to catch the grainkernels and direct them into the screw conveyor. Straw separator fingersextend inward from the inside of the cylindrical housing and in thedirection of operative rotation of the impeller along a longitudinalportion of the cylinder in spaced relation above the ends of the graincatcher plates. A debearder is attached to the cylindrical housing atthe discharge end of the screw conveyor and consists of a stationaryannular plate with spaced apart raised knobs and a cooperating closelyspaced rotary like plate mounted on a forward extension of the screwconveyor shaft. The grain cleaner is at the discharge end of theconveyor and below the debearder. It has a suction hood extendingthereover 3,406,505 Patented Oct. 22, 1968 and leading to thecylindricalhousing to pick up pieces of straw and chaff. A weed seedpick upstatio nis located below thecleaner oscillating screen and aconveyor picks up the weed seed and carries itto a weed seed bag fillingstation at the upper forward right side of the thresher.

vA kernel collectorbin is located below the discharge end of the graincleaner and conveyors transport the grain to the top of the'storag ebins where it is discharged uniforrnly into the bin sections. Aconversion adapter is provided to convert the thresher into acorn orfodder chopper. Suitable fodder chopper knives are installed on therotary'im'pelle'r, at its forward end portion and a feed supplies thecylindrical housing at its forward end, where normally cut'grain enters,with corn and fodder to be chopped. A plate is removedfrom the side ofthe housing where the weed seed sacker is located and a blowerhousingiis installed to receive and convey the chopped' fodder fromthecylindrical housing. I

This application is a continuation-in-part ofmy copending applicationSer. No. 440,432, filed Mar. 17, 1965, and now abandoned.

Drawings and diagrams of the combine are attached. They show aself-propelled machine with a cutting bar at the front for the severanceof a swath of growing crops. Dual fans pick up the severed crops andcause them to be blown to the thresher, a large, cylindrical mechanism.

The action of a lengthwise fan within the cylinder forces air rearwardalong a stationary ledge spiraling from the front to the back, creatingpowerful suction and setting in motion the entering crops. Thecentrifugal force, flailing bars and separating fingers effectivelyseparate the grain or seeds from the stalks. The light stalks continuespiraling toward the rear, to exit out the machine. The separated,heavier grain kernels are trapped by special grain stoppers, collectedand transported within the machine to a debearder mecahnisrn and on toan oscillating device that vacuum cleans the grain, isolates and carriesaway weed seeds, and deposits the clean grain in a conveyor for deliveryto a temporary storage bin wrapped about the machine.

Rotating paddle blades enclosed within a drum having a stationary scrollform a fan to cause a vacuum or suction force at the front and a blowingforce at the rear. This principle is utilized in the successfuloperation of the thresher unit of the invention. It should beunderstood, however, that it is not the intent of the inventor to limitthe application of the idea of a stationary scroll fan to a harvestingand threshing machine. The principle is readily applicable to all typesof industrial, commercial and household fans and other air movingdevices, and the same principle is adaptable for use on all vacuum,suction and blowing machines and devices.

The primary objective of applying the invention as illustrated is toprovide farmers and agricultural workers with a new and improved methodof harvesting and threshing crops.

The new combine offers the following advantages over the conventionalharvesting and threshing machine:

(a) It is multi-purpose, having the capability of handling wheat, seedcrops, oats, rice, barley, peas and like crops upon an easy oscillatorair flow adjustment; threshes grasses and like small seeds upon a simplechange of sieve size; knife-like and blower attachments readily convertthe machine into a corn and fodder chopper and silo filler; and thedischarged exhaust can be utilized for blowing, for drying and forcooling a house, barn or other building.

(b) It is highly efficient in the harvesting of crops. Permanent guidespick up down grain and lodged grain.

These guides also pick up windrows, eliminating the need for specialattachments.

(c) It is highly efiicient in the threshing of crops. The action issufiiciently strong to remove butt kernels, yet so gentle that greengrain is threshed without damage, and a 'd'ebearder-at thedischargeend'of the'thresher removes kernels from any heads of grainthat pass therethrough."

('d) It is highly efiicient in the cleaning of the threshed grain'nThecleaning operation repeats if not completely successful on the firstattempt; The location of'the cleaner at the front 'of the'thresherallows the return of broken heads,"chaff and debristo the thresher unitto reconimence the threshing and cleaningc'ycle.

'(e) The invention is also selffcleani'ng, permitting the harvestingandthreshing of different an'interrnixing"of the grains.

(f) It is highly efiicient in the separation of weed seeds fromthe't'hresh ed grain. The constant oscillation of the sieve and its meshsize assure that weed seeds fall through While the larger'grainkernelsare traversing the sieve to reach the grain hopper.

(g) With centrifugal force threshing most of the chaff remains on thehead of the straw, increasing many-fold the straws feed value.

(h) The threshers vacuum action eliminates grain dust and waste in thevicinity of the operator, lending toward the safeguarding of his healthand well-being.

(i) The new combine has only a few moving parts. The

threshing unit operates with one rotating part and on a small powersupply. The oscillating cleaner has one moving part. These features areindicative of minimum maintenance and fewer and less-costly repairbills.

grain crops without conveyors, drive shafts andhousing, taken on line 6--6 of FIGURES 3 and 4.

FIGURE 7 is a cross-section of the thresher, screw conveyors, driveshafts, housing and weed sacker closet, taken on line 7-7 of FIGURES 3and 4.

FIGURE 8. i s..a crpss-sectionpf the thresher, screw rj f. driIve h f ndine t $n: i of FIGURES 3 and4 FIGURE. 9 is ,apartial. view. of. the,threshingamechanism, illustrating in detailqthe impeller'hnd fiailingarm assembly of FIGURE 6. FIGURE 9 also shoWs-fodder cuttingattachments. 5

FIGURE 10 is a detaiLof .a flailing arm of FIGURE 9 with aknifeattachment, showing their relationship to the impeller shaft of thethresher." F FIGURE 11 is a crossssectionof; azflailing .arm.and knifeattachment,ftaken on line 11'11-:of-'FIGURE 102 FIGURE:13.is.a half planview of.the.-oscillating.cleaner with.-the hood removed,symmetricalabout thecenter line detailing primarily thespreader plateandweecLseed sieve, takenon line13'13 of FIGURE 14.

FIGURE 14 is a longitudinal cross-section vof- .the oscillator with thehood removed, taken ton line,. 14-14 of FIGURES 13 and.15. FIGURE 15is-a-horizontal cross-section of the oscillator with the hoodremoved;symmetrical about ,the

center line, taken on .line-15.15 of FIGURES .13 -and 14.

(j) The machine is comparatively small, light and compact, therebyeffecting savings in manufacture and operation; also, its size andweight enhance its use in harvesting and threshing rice and kindredcrops raised on marshy land.

(k) It is all-weather, being fully usable and effective in heavy dew,wind and storm; with lighting the invention makes night harvesting areality.

(I) The harvesting and threshing combine has a low center of gravity,which drops further when grain is deposited in the grain holding bin.The low center of gravity renders the invention practicallyterrain-proof and eliminates the need for cumbersome leveling deviceattachments.

v (In) Its telescoping vacuum pickup duct allows operation of themachine over most roadways and highways.

(n) A screw conveyor open the length of the wraparound storage bincauses the grain to level itself and assures full loading of the binmechanically.

Other advantages of the invention over existing harvesting and threshingmachines become apparent on a study of its component parts, makeup andoperation. For this purpose reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings.

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the harvesting and threshing machine, showingthe invention in its entirety.

FIGURE 2 is an elevation view of the harvesting and threshing combine,showing the invention in its entirety.

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional-view of the thresher, screwconveyors, housing and the temporary storage bin, and is a plan view ofthe oscillating cleaner, taken online 3-3 of FIGURES 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and8. The harvesting assembly is not shown.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view of the left half of the thresher,oscillating cleaner, housing and the temporary storage bin, also showingscrew conveyors, taken on line 4-4 of FIGURES 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8. Here,too, the harvester does not appear.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-section of the harvesting and threshing combine,showing the oscillating cleaner, screw conveyors, thresher front andhousing, taken on line 55 of FIGURES 3 and 4.

FIGURE 6 is a cross-section of the thresher, screw FIGURE 16 is a planview ofthe dual .vacuumw fans of the harvester, taken on. line ,1616 ofFIGU'RE=.17.--

FIGURE 17:15 a half cross-sectionand half elevation v-iew..of the dualvacuum fans of the harvester, taken on line 1717.of FIGURE 16.

- 1 .FIGURE 18 .is a vertical sectionalfra'gmentary,view along line18-18 of FIGURE .19 and is a fragmentary view at the rear portion of theharvester showing a r'nodified cylindrical housing and. screw conveyorpositioning therein and showing carry. over fingers vpartially extendsing over the'screw conveyor and a grain catcherarcuate plate oppositelydisposed to'the carry over fingers and extending over a portion of thescrew conveyor. atits rear end. FIGURE 19 is a fragmentary plan view of.the modified form of the harvester showing the rear .end wall and aportion just forward thereof showing the last spiral of the spiralplate, carry' over fingers and the arcu ate grain catcher plateextending over the rear portion of the conveyor. 1';

FIGURE 20 is a fragmentary-vertical sectional View along line 2020 ofFIGURE 21 depicting the front end wall of thecylindrical housing andthefront dis charge end of the conveyor discharging into a debeardermechanism that discharges to the cleaner mechanism.

FIGURE 21 is a fragmentary end view of the front end of thedebeader'mechanism shown in FIGURE-20. FIGURES -1 and 2 are drawn on'thescale of m;- inch to one foot, with FIGURES 3, 4, S, 6; 7 and 8 drawn onthe scale of inch to'one' foot.- Withinreason the dimensions of thenew-combine are not important. The inventor has constructed and testedto his complete satisfaction a workingmodel of the threshing unit; thebasis for the superiority claimed on behalf of the invention overexisting harvester-threshers. The drawings are predicated on thatworking model, but different size machineconstructed along the samelines would be fully usable. 1

Nor do the sizes of the component parts have much dependent relationshipupon each other. For instance, FIGURE 1 shows a cutting, device for aten-foot swath of growing crops, but a twelve-or fourteen-foot cuttingbar would also work well. While the size of the dual vacuum fans shouldincrease proportionately the thresher diagramed-is believed to have thecapacity necessary to handle the extra crops from such twelve orfourteen-foot cutters.

The new combine can be built of aluminum, steel alloys and other metalsand accepted materials customary to the manufacturing of kindreddevices, depending onfthe good judgment of the the manufacturer. I

Because they are commonplace and lack originality, the drawings do notshow: V II (a) The gasoline or diesel engine for powering the harvestingand threshing combine. As eighty -fivehor'se power is ample to drive themachine and operate its harvesting, threshing, oscillating cleaner andconveyor units, space for an engine developing that power is shown.Increasing the size of the motor compartment allows the invention tobeequipped with more horsepower.

(b) The drive assembly. The drawings of the combine conceive afront-wheel drive, but a rear-wheel drive is also practical.

(c) The gears and belts for imparting power to the drive shafts of theharvester, thresher, oscillating cleaner and the screw conveyors, andthe levers for operating and controlling thoseparts. Thecontrol leversshould be centralized, their location in the cab being most practicable.I

(d) Tractor operation. The new combine is readily adaptable totractor-power takeoff, replacing the selfpropulsion shown by thedrawings. I

Adverting to .FIGURE 1, here starting a particular description of thedrawings, there is illustrated a top view of the helf-propelledharvesting and threshing combine 18. FIGURE 2 illustrates a view of theright of the combine 18. At the front the harvesting assembly 79 isreaping grain. The cab 19 and the motor compartment 20 with breather 21are located above the forward wheels 22, ahead of the housing 23a thatcovers the threshing and oscillating cleaner units and other innerparts. Behind the cab 19 is the vent 24 that provides air for the hiddenoscillator. Above the rear, steering wheels 25 is the temporary grainstorage bin 26. The exterior of the grain storage bin 26 abuts with thehousing 23a there to form, in conjunction with other housing 23b, theoutside of the combine. At the rear end is the straw exhaust chute 27. II

The ladder 28 and platform 29 furnish access to the weed sacker closet30, which FIGURE 2 shows with no door. A sack 31 hangs from thesackholder 32 beneath the funnel 33 at the end of the weed seed conveyor59.

Located within the interior of the new combine 18 is the threshingasembly 35. The bottom half of the thresher 35 is exhibited in detail byFIGURE .3, and the left half of the thresher 35 is exhibited in detailvby FIGURE 4. A front view of the thresher 35 is found in FIGURE 5. Anexamination of these figures reveals that the body of the threshing unit35 is a large, horizontal cylinder 36 having head 37 and rear plates 38.The head plate 37 has a round, off-center mouth 39 and chaffreturnopening 40. As later appears in the full description of the inventionsoperation, harvested crops enter the mouth 39 of the thresher 35 throughthe exhibited intake duct 87.

Within the threshing cylinder 36, attached to the inside wall,'is thespiral 41. Alluding to FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 in addition to the previouslymentioned FIGURES 3 and 4, it is observed the spiral 41 is a six-inchperpendicular ledge or shelf traversing the cylinder '36 in clockwiseloops. Departing cleanly from the rig-ht front of the cylinder '36,immediately behind the head plate 37, the spiral 41' moves twenty-fourinches rearward on the initial loop. The remaining loops are spaced aneven sixteen inches apart. However, the exact distance between any twoloops of the spiral 41 is believed to be immaterial. The spiral 41 endsnear the straw exit 42, the back, rectangular opening in the bottom ofthe cylinder 36.

Attached to the bottom left half of the threshing cylinder 36, standingperpendicular to the inside wall, is a plurality of zig-zagging sheetmetal plates called grain stoppers 43. They are situated about one-inchfrom each other. From their tapered beginning at mid-cylinder 36 thegrain stoppers 43 gradually increase in depth to reach approximatelythree inches at the cylinders 36 bottom.

After the first loop of the spiral 41, numerous separating fingers 44are afiixed in two horizontal rows to the inside of the upper left halfof the threshing cylinder 36. Generally, a separating finger. 44 is 6inch spring steel, sixteen inches in length, and slightly sloped orturned at the free end. From its base a separating finger 44 protrudesdown, inwardly and away from the inside of cylinder 36 to become more orless flush with the edge of the spiral 41, as per FIGURE 7.

I It will be noted that the threshing cylinder 36 has a lengthwiseopening at the bottom withan attached seveninch trough holding asix-inch grain collecting conveyor 45. Above the grain collectingconveyor 45, taking part of the curve out of the lower right side of thethreshing cylinder 36, is a booster plate 46. The booster plate 46 isabout one and one-half feet in width and extends the length of thecylinder 36. The spiral 41 is trimmed accordingly. Or, should itconvenience the manufacturer, separate booster plates 46 can fit betweenthe loops of the spiral 41.

Also extending the length of the cylinder 36 is the threshing assemblysfan generally indicated at 36a, called the impeller. FIGURES 3, 4, 6, 7and 8 show that the impeller is a large, horizontal, four bladed fanwith a drive shaft 48 at the center. Four support arms 51 with attachedblades 52 emanate from the hubs 49, 50 attached to the drive shaft 48.The front impeller hub 49, but not the remaining three hubs 50, has fourflailing bars 53 that are identical in shape to the support arms 51.

The impeller blades 52 are about twelve inches in width and each has afour-inch forward curve at the outer end. The blades 52 rotate clockwiseabout one inch away from the spiral 41 and separating fingers 44. Thethreshing assembly 35 runs most satisfactorily with the impeller blades52 turning at approximately three hundred fifty revolutions per minute.

The oscillating cleaner assembly 54 is placed to conveniently receivethe discharge of the grain collecting conveyor 45 of the thresher 35. Atop View of the oscillator 54-appears in FIGURE 3 and FIGURE 4 is acrosssection showing the left half of the oscillator 54. The hood 55with its air flow regulator 56 is attached to the front of the thresher35, covering the chaff return opening 40. Beneath the oscillator frame57 is the weed hopper 58. FIGURE 5 illustrates a front view of the weedhopper 58, giving its relationship to the weed seed conzgyor 59, theoscillator frame 57 and the grain hopper The oscillator 54, without itshood 55, weed hopper 58 and grain hopper 60, is most clearly diagramedby FIG- URES 13, 14 and 15. FIGURE 13 is a top view of the left half ofthe oscillator 54 and pictures the spreader plate 61 with its spreadingbars 61a and the interchangeable weed seed sieve 62. FIGURES 14 and 15show the eccentric drive shaft 63, bearing 64, and the keeper ring 65which locks these parts in place. The drive pulley 66 has a bearing 67(not shown) resting on the exhibited support 68..

A clip 69 holds the interchangeable weed seed sieve 62 to the frame 57during oscillation caused by revolutions of the eccentric drive shaft63. Attached to the forward end of the frame 57, to compensate forslight movement at that point, is the steadying guide 70 and bracket 71.The weed hopper 58 below the weed seed sieve 62 is stationary and, asFIGURE 14 shows, closely fit to the frame 57, but without connection.

-The grain hopper 60 is forward of the weed hopper 58, beyond theinterchangeable weed seed sieve 62. The vertical screw conveyor 72unloads the grain hopper 60. Returning to FIGURE 5, the vertical screwconveyor 72 is clearly observed; also, the discharge chute 73 and an endview of the bin loading conveyor 74.

The temporary grain storage bin 26 is wrapped around the threshingcylinder 36, as portrayed by FIGURES 3 and 4. At-the preference of themanufacturer, an openingwith door can be placed in the top of the bin 26for checking the grain or repairing the bin loading conveyor 74; So,too, there should be anopening in the housing 23a-to permit adjusting ofthe oscillato'rs 54 air flow regulator 56, changing of the weed seedsieve 62 and the repairing of other inner parts in that area. Becausethe location of these entries is of little importance, they are notshown on the drawings.

FIGURES. 3, 4 and 8 do show that the grain storage bin 26 is emptied byan unloading screw conveyor 75 situated'at the'bottom of the bin 26. Theunloading conveyor 75 feeds a secondunloading'conveyor 76;which in turnfeeds the grain discharge conveyor 77 with chute 78. The graincollecting conveyor 45 and unloading and discharge conveyors 75, 76 and77 are powered by .the illustrated drive shaft 47. i

Top and'side views of'the harvesting assembly 79 appearin FIGURES 1 and2 and show an ordinary cutting bar 80, for which no claim is made,attached to adjustable support brackets 81. These brackets 81 raise andlower to adapt to the terrain and crops being harvested and serve tofirm up the harvesting assembly 79.

Numerous grain guides 82, spaced about three inches apart the wholewidth of the cutter, comb the grain and head down grain and lodged graintoward the cutting bar 80, and can be used to pick up windrows, A grainguide 82 is made of quarter-inch spring steel and attached, as shown byFIGURE 2, beneath the cutter bar frame 80. The top of a grain guide 82is free. The coil in the grain guide 82 gives needed flexibility.

' A novel feature of the harvesting assembly is the dual vacuum fans 83.Detail drawings of the fans 83 are found in FIGURES 16 and 17. They showthat each fan 83 consists of a disc with attached scroll, driven by acentered drive shaft 84. The left vacuum fan 83 rotates counterclockwiseand the right vacuum fan 83 rotates clockwise as viewed in FIGURE 16.The fans 83 are covered to the extent shown by cowling 85 that funnelsinto a telescoping discharge duct 86. The harvester discharge duct 86lengthens into piping connected with the thresher intake 87 previouslymentioned. The telescoping of the discharge duct 86 permits raising theharvester assembly 79 enough to safely drive the combine 18 overhighways and roadways.

The invention 18 may be provided with several simple attachments toexpand upon its capabilities. Eight fodder chopping knives 88,illustrated at FIGURES 9, and 11, are designed to fit the outer ends ofthe support arms 51 and flailing arms 53 of the threashers 35 front hub49. To withdraw the chopped fodder from the thresher 35 the weed sackerplate 34 of FIGURE 7 is detached from the cylinder 36. The weed sackerplate 34 is replaced by a blower 89 with fodder exit 90, like the oneillustrated at FIGURE 12. The fodder exit 90 is constructed to receivefurther lengths of pipe of matched size.

The manner in which the new harvesting and threshing machine 18 operatesis relatively simple. When the combine is driven forward in a field ofgrain or a rice paddy, the grain guides 82 serve to head encounteredcrops toward the cutting bar 80 mechanism. The conventional cutter 80,operating in the fashion of a multitude of sideby-side scissors, seversthe growing grain or rice stalks from their roots. A divider at thefront center of the cowling 85 directs the stalks away from the middletoward one fan 83 or the other 83.

The dual vacuum fans 83, as the name implies, revolve with suflicientspeed to suck the cut crops into the cowling 85 and, in one continuousmotion, blow the crops through the cowling 85 and into the harvesterdischarge piping 86.

Grasses and light seed crops may be harvested in the same manner. Or, atthe option of the operator, the cutting mechanism may be disengaged andthe suction of the dual fans 83 utilized to pull the light seeds fromtheir heads and into the harvesting assembly 79, without the crops beingsheared from their roots. j'

A considerable s'uction'force is created "at the mouth 39 of thethresher 35 by the rotation of the impellenfan blades52; The forceis"suflicient to vacuum the harvested crops through the piping86; 87 andintothe th'reshers mouth'39; The crops entering "the thresher 35 areimmediately cau'ghtand wrenched and sharply thrown by centrifugal-force,created by rotation of the fan blades 52, to the upper left as viewedfrom the'left of FIGURE 3 of thefront'of the cylinder 36. The enteringcrops-are also impacted by the forward ends of the fan blades'j5 2,thej'front support arms 51" an dthe flailing ba'rs"53. Singularly or incombination, these violent forces and actions upon the crops cause therelatively heavy kernels or seeds to separate and fly out from theirheads." The threshed grains o r seeds fallin'to the grain stoppers 43,the centrifugal force within the" cylinders 36 be'ing insufficient tokeep these small, compactobjects in motion'. Withinthe grain 'stoppers'43 the grains. or 'seed's' z'igzag down the steep, smooth irisidesurface of thecylinder 36 and drop into the grain. collecting conveyor45. 1

Such of the'harvested crops as are not threshed on initial entry intothe thresher 35 are kept m'o'ving'by the revolving fan blades 52, thoughheld near the inner side of the cylinder 36 by centrifugalforce,'around'th e loops of the spiral 41. The boosterplate46 addsimpetus to the'upward thrust of the circling crops and threshed strawfInthe second loop of the spiral 41. the moving, tumbling crops come intosharp contact with the two rows of separating fingers 44, which givefurther threshing. The separating fingers 44 scatter the circlingmaterials, freeing any kernels or seeds trapped or enmeshed in a wad ofstraw. The separating fingers 44 also ,tend to divert the grain stalksand straw toward the center of the thresher 35, minimizing abrupt impactwith the grain stoppers 43 which causes straw'breakage. 7

Additional threshing, although probably unneeded, is provided by theseparating fingers 44 in the remaining loops of the spiral 41. As'thegrain stoppers 43 and the grain collecting-conveyor 45 extend the lengthof the spiral 41, grains threshed or freed by the separating fingers 44of the second, third, fourth and fifth loops of the spiral 41 aregathered for transportation to the oscillating cleaner 54 in the mannerpreviously described,

The zig-zag shape of the grain stoppers 43 as viewed in FIGURES 3 and 4serves to ward off stalks and straw and catch the grain or seed kernels.While not so intended, it has been found that as the harvested cropsroll upon and across the grain stoppers 43, under centrifugal forcepressure, some threshing by raspingis effected. Withinthe cylinder 36the crops and stalks are in continual tumbling motion as they arewhipped around to circle with the loops of the spiral 41, and the strawdebris and chaff are ultimately discharged out the straw exhaust chute27. A small part of the chatf and some minute piecesor bits of strawwill unavoidably drop into the grain stoppers 43 and eventually reachthe grain collecting conveyor 45 to be transported with the threshedgrain. To rid the threshed grain of debris and straw particles,

the cylinder head plate 37 is designed witha chaff return 40. Thethreshing assembly 35 breathes in part through the chaff return 40,causing a suction within the hood 55 of the oscillating cleaner 54.Threshed grain and chafl and straw particles reaching the graincollecting conveyor 45 are deposited on the spreader plate 61. Thesuction of the thresher 35 through the chaff return 40 draws all chafland pieces of straw off the spreader plate 61 for return .-to thethresher 35 and eventual elimination via the exhaust, chute 27. Thesuction force within the hood 55, however, is limited by the air flowregulator 56 to. a strength insufficient to disturb the threshed grainkernels.

'Ihe eccentric drive shaft 63 keeps the oscillator frame 57. and-attachments including' the spreader plate 61 andinterchangeableweed'seed sieve 62, constant forward, up-aud down motion.The spreaders 61g assure a fairly evendistribution of the grainkernelsacross the'plate 61. Weed seeds threshed with the grain kernels,although small, are too heavyfor the vacuum return for the thresher 35with the chalf and straw particles. The weed seeds, by reason of themovement of the oscillator 54, do cross the spreadenplate 61 tothe-interchangeable sieve 62.

The meshlof the sieve 62;is large enoughtoallowpassage of the weedseeds, but is too small for the grain kernels. The weed-seeds fallthrough the mesh of the sieve 62 and into the weed hopper 58, from'whichthey are discharged by the weed seed convyor'59 into a sack 31in theweed sacker closet 30.

The threshed grain, also deposited on the spreader plate-61 by the graincollecting convey or 45, are .kept inthatgforward, bouncing motion bythe oscillator 54. These kernels traverse the sieve 62 to. drop into ahopper 60 for transportation to the top of the machine by a verticalscrew conveyor 72, from whence they fall to the loading conveyor 74through a discharge chute 73;The loading conveyor 74 is completely openwhere it crosses the temporary storage bin 26. This design assures thatas the bin 26 fills with grain above the unencornpassed loading conveyor74, the top of the pile of grain" will be continually pushed toward therear of the bin 26. Eventually, if sufiicient grain is harvested andthreshed, the bin 26 is evenly and completely filled.

The seeds of small grasses, such as alfalfa, clovers and the like, arethreshed and gathered by the grain collecting conveyor 45 in the mannerheretofore described. However, these seeds are withdrawn from theinvention 18 through the sieve 62, collected in the hopper 58 andtransported by the conveyor 59 to the sack 31, all in the same manner asthat previously described for weed seeds separated from grain kernels.Weed seeds are separated from small grasses in the conventional fashionby another mechanism.

The temporary storage bin 26 serves to retain the newly threshed grainwhile the combine 18 is operating in the field-The bin26finds noveltyin'its shape and location, serving to lower the center of gravity whileadding compactness to the machine 18. The bulky shape of theconventional harvester-thresher prohibits a circular tank 26 of thisdesign.

The temporary storage bin 26 is unloaded of its grain by the threeconnecting conveyors 75, 76, 77 shown in FIGURES 3, 4 and 8. The chute78 loads a grain truck or similar vehicle by means of appropriatestandard dis charge tubing.

3 A conventional corn or'fodder hopper, not shown in any of thediagrams, feeds the thresher mouth 39, the intake piping 87 beingdetached at that point. Knives 88 are afiixed at the ends of the supportarms 51 and fiailing bars 53. The weed sacker plate 34 is removed,exposing the cylinder 36 at the weed sacker closet 30. Into that spacefits the blower 89, which opens into the cylinder 36. The forwardconveyors 59, 72, 74 and oscillating cleaner 54 are disengaged. Thethresher has been converted to a. corn or fodder chopper.

The fodder producing attachments work in the following fashion; with themachine 18 standing stationary corn or fodder reaches the unit 35through the mentioned chopper. The whirling knives 88 chop the corn orfodder into a multitude of small bits and pieces. The chopped corn orfodder particles circle a loop of the spiral 41 until the blower 89opening is reached, where they cease following the spiral 41 to becarried by the air forces through the blower 89 and out of the exit 90.If moving rather than stationary corn chopping is desired, theconventional corn harvesting attachment can be adapted to the newcombine 18.

In the modified form shown in FIGURES 18-21, .the

cylindrical. housing 36 has a longitudinal aperture 36b in its lowestpart and closing this aperture is an elongated semicircular member thatis welded or otherwise secured to the cylinder 36. Within this member36c and protruding about half into the bottom of the cylinder 36 throughthe longitudinal opening is the screw conveyor 45. An elongated andarcuate grain catcher plate extends about the 9 to 12 oclock portion ofthe conveyor 45 and between the last spiral of plate 41 and the rearwall 38 of the cylindrical housing. This grain catcher plate as thekernels of grain build up thereon acts as a guide in directing them intothe screw conveyor 45. Oppositely disposed to the grain catch'plate andextending over the whole length of the screw conveyor 45 are spacedapart arcuate carry over fingers 101. These fingers 101 extend generallyin the direction of the impeller rotation and direct the grain stalksover the screw conveyor.

In FIGURES 20 andZl there is an opening 102 in the front wall 37 of thecylindrcal housing 36 through which the screw conveyor 45 discharges.Mounted about this opening 102 on the cylindrical housing and anextension shaft 45a of the conveyor is a grain head debearder mechanismgenerally indicated at 103. This debearder mechanism 103 has an annularstationary plate 104 fixed to to the outside of the end wall 37 aboutthe opening 102 therein. This stationary plate 104 has raised spacedapart protrusions or knobs 140a thereon projecting forwardly.Cooperating with this stationary plate 104 is an annular rotating plate105 having a forwardly protruding conical like center portion 105b thatis mounted on a tubular sleeve or hub 106. The hub 106 has a set screw107 that holds the plate 105 on the forward extension of the conveyorshaft 45a. The rotating plate 105 has a plurality of spaced protrusionsor knobs 105a thereon that cooperate with the knobs 104a on thestationary plate 104. Any beards or heads of grains that may be movedforward by the conveyor 45 pass between the closely spaced plates of thedebearder and the kernels are brushed off. The kernels and chaff falldownward with the otherkernels passing between the plates to the graincleaner therebelow. The chaff is picked up by the suction hood 55extending over the grain separator and pulled into the cylindricalhousing for discharge at its rear end through the straw exhaust chute27.

The impeller 36a has its blades 52 extending for about 60% of the outerportion of the radius of the impeller. The blade tips are spaced aboutone inch from the spiral 41. The ends of the blades incline to theradially extending support arms 51 at about 45 in the direction ofrotation of the impeller.

In the harvest-ing of heavy grains the revolution per minute of theimpeller is about 480. For light grasses, corn, peas and beans the speedof the impeller is about 320 rpm. The tip velocity is about 5040 feetfor heavy grains such as barley, wheat and the like.

The fan blades 52 as they rotate and approach the booster plate 46 seemto compress the air ahead of the blade, that is the air seems to bechoked off ahead of the blade. As the blade passes over the boosterplate it seems to pick up air and move it ahead of the blade. Thebooster plate does not shut olf the air completely, it just causes theair ahead of the approaching blade to compress as much as possible.Without the spiral 41 and the booster plate 52, the air tends to flowout of the machine at both ends. The spiral 41 working in conjunctionwith the booster plates 41 forces the air or seems to create a vacuumfrom front to back in the cylinder 36.

The booster plate 36 extends at an angle of about 49 from a verticalcenter plane through the machine.

In the prototype machine there is a spiral 41 that is six inches inradial width and the blades 52 are twelve inches wide in the radialdirection. About at least 15% of the radius from the drive shaft 48 ofthe impeller 36a to the surroundin cylinder 36 is devoted to the spiral41. Likewise, not more than abou't'22% of the radius of the cylindershould be devoted to the width of the spiral 41. The ratio of fan blade52 radial width to that of the spiral 41 radial width is about 2 to 1.

The spacing for the first spiral rib 41 at the front end of the thresheris about 24 inches. The purposes here is to spread the straw as amajority of the threshing takes place in the first spiral portion. Thespacing between the remaining spirals is about 16 inches. The spiralspacing has some dependency on the speed of the impeller and the amountof'straw intended to be moved in a horizontal direction. The strawcirculates five or six times about the inside of the machine in itsthreshing transit" from front to rear through the thresher.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has beendisclosed, it is not desired that the invention be limited to theconstruction, assembly, parts and attachments shown.,It is obvious thatthere may be changes and modifications without departure from theinvention. Perforce, the following claims are intended to cover allsuch'changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scopeof the invention.

I claim as my invention:

'1. A thresher for grain crops comprising, in combination,

a generally cylindrical housing havin a forward end and a rear end,

said forward end having an opening for receiving harvested grain stalksto be threshed, an opening for a grain discharge conveyor and an openingfor a suction hood over the discharge conveyor opening, said rear endhaving an opening through which straw isremoved.

, said cylindrical housing having in a portion of its lower arcuatesector and extending radially inward from the cylindrical wall aplurality of relatively closely spaced apart generally arcuate platesacting as grain stoppers to channel the threshed kernels of grain,

said cylindrical housing having a spiral strip member extending radiallyinward from the cylindrical wall for the length of the cylindricalhousing with its spirals spaced materially wider apart than said arcuateplates in the bottom portion,

a rotary impeller extending longitudinally in the cylindrical housingand having acentral shaft supported by the housing for rotation,

said rotary impeller having radially extending angularly spaced apartarms extending from a hub means on the shaft and axially spaced apartand axially extending blade members attached to the axially spaced arms,said blade members being radially spaced from the axial shaftin radialclose spacing to said spiral strip for rotation there past,

said cylindrical housing having spaced apart separating fingersextending along an arcuate portion of the cylindrical housing along itslength starting in spaced relation from the forward end and projectinginwardly from the wall of the housing and in the direction of operativerotation of said rotary impeller to adjacent the circumference of theimpeller,

,a longitudinally extending grain conveyor positioned in the lowermostportion of the cylindrical housing and extending to discharge grainkernels through said opening in the bottom of the forward end of thecylindrical housing,

said grain stopper plates terminating at one end adjacent saidlongitudinal conveyor, and

a booster plate extending longitudinally within the cylindrical housingand having one longitudinal edge adjacent the longitudinal conveyor onthe opposite side thereof from said stopper plates with its oppositelongitudinal edge meetingthe wall of the housing so that the plate isspaced :at its midpoint a material distance below the inner edge of saidspiral plate,

12 said booster plate sloping upwardly'in the-'geriei'al direction ofoperative rotation ofthe irotaryiimpeller; and providing impetus andadditional thrust to thestalks and straw' on their upward'spiral sweepduring threshing. i

2. A thresher according to claim 1 wherein said separating fingers arespaced relatively closely adjacent the grain separator plates in thereverse direction of rota-f tion of the impeller and said separatorplates taper from a wide end adjacent said conveyor to where theyfair-intof the cylindrical housing wall at their narrower and other end.

3. A thresher according to claim 1 wherein the'con veyoris a screwconveyor that extendspartially radially inward in the cylindricalhousingthroughout-it s length and including spaced apart carry overfingersextending from the cylinder wall over an arcuate portion of the conveyorthat extends within thehousingand'in the 'gen eral direction ofoperative rotation of said impeller, and an arcuate elongated plateextending from'the cylindrical housing over a rear longitudinal andarcuate portion of the conveyor so as to direct thereover collectedgrain kernels into the conveyor. v 7

4. A thresher according to claim 1 including arcuately spaced apart,radially extending flailing bars mounted at the forward end of saidimpeller shaft; T

5. A thresher according to claim 1 wherein-the conveyor is a screwconveyor that extends partially radially inward in the cylindricalhousing throughout its length and including a grain debearder means atthe discharge end of said conveyor, said debearder comprising astationary plate on the outside of said forward end of the cylindricalhousing wall surrounding said bottom opening in the for ward end walland a rotating annular plate having mounting means mounting it on anextension of the screw conveyor shaft, said plates beingclosely'spacedapart and having a plurality of spaced apart raisedportions on their opposing faces whereby beards of grain passingth'erebetween have the kernels of grain stripped therefrom.

6. A thresher according to claim 1 wherein the forward end portion ofsaid impeller has fodder'chopper knives attached thereto, said forwardend of the housing being adapted to receive through the harvested grainstalk'opene ing fodder to be chopped and said cylindrical housing has anaperture in the side thereof spaced from the front end and adjacent saidfodder chopper knives on the impeller, a housing over the last mentionedaperture, said last mentioned housing having a chopped fodder exhaustblower therein for blowing out the chopped fodder.

7. A thresher according to claim 1 having grain cutter means, scoopmeans over the grain cutter means connected with conduit means fortransferring cut grain, said con duit means being connected with theopening in the .forward wall of the cylindrical housing for receivingharvested grain crops.

8. A thresher according to claim 7 including means tending to create asuction in said scoop means to assist in moving the cut grain throughsaid conduit means to the thresher.

9. A thresher according to claim 7 wherein said connecting conduit meansare telescopic.

10. A thresher according to claim 7 including grain cleaner meanspositioned adjacent and below the discharge end of said conveyor at thefront end of said cylindrical housing.

11. In a combine the improvement comprising a thresher having a generalcylindrical housing having a forward end and a rear end,

said forward end having an opening for receiving harvested grain stalksto be threshed, an opening for a grain discharge conveyor and an openingfor a suction hood over the discharge conveyor opening, said rear endhaving an opening through which straw is removed, said cylindricalhousing having in a portion of its lower arcuate sector and extendingradially inward from the cylindrical wall a plurality of relativelyclosely spaced apart generally arcuate plates acting as grain stoppersto channel the threshed kernels of grain,

a spiral strip member extending radially inward from the cylindricalwall for the length of the cylindrical housing with its spirals spacedmaterially wider apart than said arcuate plates in the bottom portion,

a rotary impeller extending longitudinally in the cylindrical housingand having a central shaft supported by the housing for rotation,

said rotary impeller having radially extending angularly spaced apartarms extending from a hub means on the shaft and axially spaced apartand axially extending blade members attached to the axially spaced arms,said blade members being radially spaced from the axial shaft in radialclose spacing to said spiral strip for rotation there past,

said cylindrical housing having spaced apart separating fingersextending along an arcuate portion of the cylindrical housing along itslength starting in spaced relation from the forward end and projectinginwardly from the Wall of the housing and in the direction of operativerotation of said rotary impeller to adjacent the circumference of theimpeller,

a longitudinally extending grain conveyor positioned in the lowermostportion of the cylindrical housing and extending to discharge grainkernels through said opening in the bottom of the forward end of thecylindrical housing,

said grain stopper plates terminating at one end adjacent saidlongitudinal conveyor, and

a booster plate extending longitudinally within the cylindrical housingand having one longitudinal edge adjacent the longitudinal conveyor onthe opposite side thereof from said stopper plates with its oppositelongitudinal edge meeting the wall of the housing so that the plate isspaced at its midpoint a material distance below the inner edge of saidspiral plate, said booster plate sloping upwardly in the generaldirection of operative rotation of the rotary impeller and providingimpetus and additional thrust to the stalks and straw on their upwardspiral sweep during threshing.

12. A combine according to claim 11 wherein said separating fingers arespaced relatively closely adjacent the grain separator plates in thereverse direction of rotation of the impeller and said separator platestaper from a wide end adjacent said conveyor to where they fair into thecylindrical housing wall at their narrower and other end.

13. A combine according to claim 11 wherein the conveyor is a screwconveyor that extends partially radially inward in the cylindricalhousing throughout its length and including spaced apart carry overfingers extending from the cylinder Wall over an arcuate portion of theconveyor that extends within the housing and in the general direction ofoperative rotation of said impeller, and an arcuate elongated plateextending from the cylindrical housing over a rear longitudinal andarcuate portion of the conveyor so as to direct thereover collectedgrain kernels into the conveyor.

14. A combine according to claim 11 including arcuately spaced apart,radially extending flailing bars mounted at the forward end of saidimpeller shaft.

15. A combine according to claim 11 wherein the conveyor is a screwconveyor that extends partially radially inward in the cylindricalhousing throughout its length and including a grain debearder means atthe discharge end of said conveyor, said debearder comprising astationary plate on the outside of said forward end of the cylindricalhousing Wall surrounding said bottom opening in the forward end wall anda rotating annular plate having mounting means mounting it on anextension of the screw conveyor shaft, said plates being closely spacedapart and having a plurality of spaced apart raised portions on theiropposing faces whereby beards of grain passing therebetween have thekernels of grain stripped therefrom.

16. A thresher according to claim 1 including a grain storage meanssurrounding at least a portion of said cylindrical housing, graincleaning means to receive grain from the discharge end of said conveyor,a suction hood means extending from said hood opening in the forward endof the cylindrical housing and over the grain cleaning means, a conveyormeans conveying grain discharged from the grain cleaner to the grainstorage means.

17. A thresher and grain cleaner according to claim 16 wherein saidgrain cleaner has a weed seed discharge collecting means, a conveyormeans for the collected weed seed leading to a weed seed sackingstation.

18. A thresher and grain cleaner according to claim 17 including a graindischarge conveyor connected with said grain storage means fordischarging grain from said storage means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,251,187 12/1917 Davis -271,287,439 12/ 1918 Richmond 13027 1,688,662 10/ 1928 Schlayer ISO-271,744,334 1/ 1930 Schlayer 130-27 1,844,750 2/ 1932 Ellis 56-202,214,533 9/1940 La Fave 56-123 2,745,409 5/ 1956 Tillotson 13027ANTONIO F. GUIDA, Primary Examiner.

